Diligence
by Just-Absolutely-Super
Summary: Winry gets well acquainted with all-nighters. She has a job to do after all.


**AN: **I had this fic in my drafts for, like, close to a year? I got stuck on it and never knew how to finish it. Well, I figured something out and now I'm publishing it.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own

* * *

On that night where everything changed, Winry didn't sleep.

It was kind of hard to when you and your grandmother had to work to make sure your childhood friend didn't bleed to death from two sudden amputations.

They worked well into the night, Pinako expertly cauterizing the wounds, while Winry assisted with checking Ed's vitals and hanging intravenous fluids to make sure Ed was receiving as much volume as he lost. Then there was the bandaging, which had to be sterile in order to prevent an infection.

It was well into the early morning when Pinako declared the small alchemist stable.

"He's resting, so that means we should too." She had said. Winry nodded and was prepared to leave for her room when she noticed Al—now in a suit of armor—was still awake and diligently staying by Ed's bedside.

"Al," she gently said, "you should get some sleep too."

He looked to her, the glowing red of his eyes unnerving Winry a little. "I can't."

Winry cocked her head to the side in confusion, "Al, Ed's okay now. You won't be helping him if you don't get your rest."

"No, Winry, you don't understand. _I can't sleep_."

Eyes wide and mouth agape, Winry finally understood what he meant. He wasn't awake by choice, wanting to stay by his big brother's side. No, Al _physically _could not sleep.

What had happened to him? To Ed?

Winry spent that night with Al, asking him question after question. He explained what it meant to bind a soul to an object. He explained what he and his brother neglected to tell her over the past couple of years—that they found a formula to transmute a human. They meticulously planned on bringing their mother back. Only it seemed their calculations weren't perfect, and the Elric Brothers paid a hefty price. All night Al opened up to her, and even though Winry was exhausted from the night's events, she refused to go to bed. Al needed someone right now; sleep could wait…

By the time Pinako came back downstairs, she found her granddaughter sitting with her dear friends; dark bags under eyes like nasty bruises.

"Go to bed, Winry." She commanded.

Al looked out the window and noticed the daylight. He profusely apologized for keeping Winry up. "If I had known, I wouldn't have kept talking and you would be in bed! Why didn't you say anything?"

Winry just gave him a tired smile and said she was glad to be with him, and she wanted to make sure Ed stayed well too. Not bothering to hear for his reply, she went up the stairs and plopped face first onto her mattress.

She didn't wake up until early the next day.

* * *

Sleepless nights soon became Winry's dear friend.

Edward had physically recovered from that night he and Al tried to bring Trisha back to life, but not mentally.

He spent his time in his wheelchair, staring into space and not speaking—his eyes glazed and defeated. He refused to eat and barely slept, Winry believing the reason being that if Al can't eat or sleep then Ed shouldn't have that right either. Eventually, he would give in, sleep coming out of sheer exhaustion and eating if his little brother begged him or if Winry cried hard enough.

It broke Winry's heart.

One night she couldn't sleep, her thoughts too wrapped up in her friends. What would happen to them now? Would Alphonse always be trapped in that armor, never to live life as a regular kid again? And Ed—would he spend the rest of his days depressed and barely living?

Winry furrowed her eyebrows as she thought of the oldest Elric brother. His behavior was typical of someone who lost their limbs. She was with her grandmother enough to know the patients started out as depressed and thinking their lives were over; but once Pinako talked to them about the benefits of automail and how the technology could give back their old lives, they took that metaphorical step forward…

It then hit Winry. They hadn't talked about it because it seemed too soon and too big of a decision, but Ed getting fitted for automail seemed like the logical conclusion. True, he probably wouldn't be _happy _about it—Edward never seemed that thrilled with the metal appendages for whatever reason—but at least it would help him _live_.

With newfound determination, Winry crept downstairs and into the workshop. Sometimes she went down there to tinker in order to help her relax, but not tonight. Instead, she grabbed one of her sketchbooks and started drawing.

She wasn't much of an artist, but as an aspiring automail engineer she had to become good at designing blueprints.

By the time dawn hit the horizon, Winry had filled up almost half the book with automail design sketches. And she would continue to spend countless hours of her evenings sketching and revising—after all, Edward deserved nothing but the best.

One night, Alphonse came into the shop to find her comparing and contrasting the different sketches.

"Winry," his voice echoed from the empty suit, "you've been down here a lot lately. Granny won't say it, but she's a little worried about you. Even Brother has noticed you haven't been getting enough rest. Why don't you go to bed?"

Feeling a sense of déjà vu, Winry replied, "I can't."

Al cocked his head to the side, "Are you having trouble sleeping? We can get you some warm milk. Or we could turn the radio on and see if the music can relax you. Oh, Granny has some sleeping medicine she could—"

"No, Al." Winry said, her tone gentle, "I can't sleep right now. I have to make sure this automail is perfect."

The two were silent for a while before Al spoke again, "It's for Brother, isn't it? The automail you're designing?"

Winry nodded, "He hasn't said anything yet, but I know me and Gran will fit him with automail. I know I'm a novice right now, but…" she paused, trying to keep her voice from cracking with emotion, "But _I _want to be the one to help him get back on his feet. Does that sound stupid?"

Al gave a soft chuckle and shook his head, "No, Winry, it's not stupid at all. I don't think Brother would want anyone else to do it."

Winry smiled at her friend and allowed him to sit with her to keep her company.

* * *

A few days later, things started to shift into gear.

"I'm going to take up the Lt. Colonel's offer. I'm going to join the military and become a State Alchemist!"

Winry didn't like the idea—none of the residence of the household did—but she kept her mouth shut. Miss Riza's words kept echoing in her mind: it's his decision. If he thinks becoming a dog of the military will help him and his brother get their bodies back then she shouldn't protest. She should give her support.

"I'm gonna need to be fitted for some automail." Edward said, and to Winry's surprise he was addressing her specifically.

"Do you think you can do that?" he asked her. He then gave her a cocky smirk, "I'm gonna need the best."

Winry blinked, processing his words, before she smiled back at him and nodded. "Of course. I'll do my best!"

That's how Winry became a pro at all-nighters. Between Edward's surgery and rehabilitation and building his new arm and leg, Winry didn't have a lot of time to fit in a proper sleep schedule. She wouldn't let it deter her though. The boys were counting on her. She couldn't perform alchemy, or join the military with them, but she could do this and that's enough for her.

When she wasn't helping her grandmother with Ed, she was down in the shop finalizing the designs. Alphonse kept her company most nights, giving her his opinion on what Ed would like better (often joking that whatever Winry decided, Ed would insist it needed more flames or spikes). When the building process started, she turned to her grandmother for advice (Is this metal too heavy? Why isn't it giving me the full range of motion? Should she have gone with a slimmer design?).

A few months after Ed's ports were put in, Winry walked up to the oldest Elric and offered him her finished work.

"What do you think?" she asked him, anxious for his approval.

Having her set the metal prosthetics down in front of him, Ed inspected. He hemmed and hawed at them for a while, running his flesh hand over the metal, and glaring at them with a critical eye—almost like he was a judge at Resembool's sheep festival trying to find the fattest sheep for the coveted blue ribbon.

Winry was getting so antsy she almost yelled at him to _hurry up _when Ed laughed and gave her a strong pat on the head.

"They're _perfect_! Thanks, Winry!"

Winry blinked at him before letting out a huge sigh of relief. With Ed's eager prodding, she and Pinako connected the nerves. He gave a startled yelp at the pain, but was able to recover quickly enough.

"Alright, Pipsqueak, see if you can stand. We'll have to go through some range of motion exercises to make sure it isn't giving you any problems." Pinako commanded. Ed grumbled at being called "pipsqueak," but complied nonetheless.

As Winry watched Edward stand up from his chair, moving his limbs to and fro at her grandmother's instructions, she couldn't help but tear up. A year ago, Ed was nothing but a cripple who appeared to have given up on life. Now, here he was, with new limbs to help him move forward with this new chapter in his life.

They would still need to help him with the rehabilitation process—after all, it would take time for the alchemist to get used to the new weight—but for now, Winry felt satisfied with herself. She did it. She helped her friend stand back up on his own two feet.

"Winry, why are you crying?"

Winry was pulled from her musings at Edward's question. She looked up to see Ed, Al, and her grandmother give her worried looks. Smiling, she wiped the tears that escaped her eyes.

"I'm fine. These are happy tears." She sniffed a couple more times, a sob escaping her every now and then.

Ed rolled his eyes, but not in a malicious way, "Aw geez, you're still the biggest crybaby ever!" He then placed his hand on her head and pulled her forward in a makeshift hug—actively avoiding the teasing looks on his brother and surrogate grandmother's faces.

"You're probably bawling because you haven't been sleeping properly. Quit pulling all-nighters and go to bed."

Winry huffed at him, "Edward Elric, that's not how you comfort a lady!"

"Funny, I don't see any ladies around here."

After a swift wrench to the head, a few heated words, and Alphonse having to manually restrain both his brother and friend, Winry finally gave in and went to her room to get some sleep. Despite her and Ed's argument, she couldn't help but smile. It had been a long time since they fought like that. Things weren't exactly back to normal, but it was a start. And it was this thought that lulled Winry to sleep.

* * *

Winry would continue to work diligently, whether it was for Edward, her grandmother's customers, or the people in Rush Valley who Winry met while doing her apprenticeship.

All-nighters were a breeze to her now. Garfiel sometimes fussed over her like a mother hen, but she would laugh away his concern. After all, she's used to it. Why sleep when there was a job to be done?

She was a Rockbell. It would tarnish her family name if she didn't give it her all.

Her friends and family admired that about her.

Though Ed sometimes had to complain a bit…

"Please tell me you woke up earlier than usual and didn't pull another damn all-nighter. Do you have any idea what time it is?" he grumbled into the workshop.

Winry jumped in her seat, having not heard her husband walk in. She turned to stare at him. "Oh, you're back from your trip already? I thought it wouldn't be until tomorrow…"

Ed ran a hand over his face, "It _is _tomorrow."

He grabbed a clock from a nearby desk and shoved it in her face. The time read 6 a.m. Winry gaped at the clock before whipping her head toward the window. The early morning sunshine greeted her. She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

"Oh… I guess it's later than I thought… Or earlier? Hehehe."

Ed sighed, "I swear you never change. Come on, Gearhead, let's go to bed."

Winry protested, "But I'm almost finished! Little Tommy needs his new leg, I can't just abandon the project when I'm so close to finishing it!"

Ed rolled his eyes, "Little Tommy's leg can wait a few more hours. You'll think more clearly with a full night's—or day's…whatever—sleep."

"But—" Winry didn't even have time to make a better claim before her husband lifted her up from her chair and over his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes. "_Edward!_"

"I'm tired and haven't seen my wife in 2 weeks. I'd like to make up for it, thank you very much."

Winry huffed but sighed in defeat. Now that her focus was no longer on her work she could feel her body shutting down from her exhaustion. Ed was right, she needed her rest. Who knew what mistakes she could make in a sleep-deprived state. Persistent labor had its drawbacks too, huh?

Allowing Ed to place her on their bed, she snuggled into the covers and pillows, heaving a content sigh. Her body fully relaxed after Ed joined her.

"Goodnight Winry." Ed yawned, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her hair.

Winry smiled, feeling safe and warm in her husband's arms. The cold of his automail leg—the one _she _designed and made for him—gave her a comforting feeling.

"Goodnight Ed."

She'll be up in a couple of hours and get back to her work. After all, she had a job to do and Winry took pride in her diligence.

But for now, she'll take a deserved rest.

* * *

**AN: **Winry is Best Girl and Ed just wants his wife to fucking sleep.

If you like it, please review! Thank you!


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